Sorcery in the Dark Days
by Antominish
Summary: Nisha, a small town sorceress, is captured by Galbotorix. She escapes and meets with Angela the herbalist/rider as well as her weircat Solebum. They begin to conspire againt Galbotorix. Little do they know, a rider, Eragon might just spoil their plans.
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: Hey Fanfiction people! This is my first story, hope you like it. I just want to say that I don't own the whole Inheritance cycle thing, the characters the plot, or anything really. Except for Nisha. Hands off her Christopher Paolini!_

I will start at the beginning. This is a strange tale, of how a teenage girl met the rider and herbalist Angela accompanied by a boy and a weircat. Ever since the war began, Galbatorix has been recruiting anyone that contains a speck of magic. The story starts in a tiny village near Kuasta, which went by the name of Juston. It was one of those small places where everyone knew everything you did, no matter how small it was. A good story could be the highlight of your day. Therefore, the people here have a nasty habit of sticking their nose into business they had no right to be tampering with. This trait, combined with a gigantic reward from Galbatorix for the whereabouts of any magic user, was the reason for the start of Nisha's journey.

"Control Nisha! Control! I am outliving my stay in this world already, and when I'm gone, I can't be cleaning up your mess all the time!" screeched the dragon man in Nisha's ear.

"You crazy old coot! I had that one! It was your fault! You didn't give me enough Rosemary! How can we keep their minds slow enough to capture if we don't have enough Rosemary?" demanded Nisha.

"You may blame me, but who was too lazy to go to the market to get that Rosemary yesterday? Hmm? Oh that's right, little Nisha here. Get some Rosemary why don't you? Try it again! You're still not going to get them if you can't control them!" taunted the dragon man.

"Mark my words old man! I'll be back with more Rosemary, and when I'm back I'll get that spirit! And when I do, you'd better hope I don't make it take your chair again!"

Nisha stormed out of the shack. She smiled to herself at the thought of their little chair mishap. Nisha's mentor, the dragon man, as was his title to most, was strangely attached to a certain chair of his. He had spirits guard it all day, and refused to sit anywhere but on that chair. Nisha had never known what was so special about that chair. That lunatic would never answer her when she asked. Once, a rouge spirit had gotten past the dragon man. In its last moments before he banished it, it stole his chair, and took it to the otherworlds. It took him two days to call that spirit back to get the chair, but until he got that chair, he refused to eat, drink, or sleep. He came up with some very creative curses directed at that spirit. Nisha almost felt sorry for it, even though it had no emotions of its own.

Her smile vanished. The people had hexed their property again. Nisha sighed. Magic was frightening to almost everyone in Alagaesia these days. When people found out she was tampering in those arts, they became most unkind towards her. She lost all of her friends, and her family members abandoned her. Not that she had many to lose to begin with.

Nisha became the psychological outlaw of the town. Most people would cross the street if they saw her coming. The brave ones would spit in her path or draw hex marks on the dragon man's property. Sorcerer. That was who she was. The word was like a poison. If you really truly hated somebody you could call them a sorcerer nowadays. This wouldn't even bother her anymore but storeowners closed up their shops if she wanted to do business with them. It made it nearly impossible to buy supplies unless she hiked ten miles over to the next town where people didn't know her. Her failure at the ritual, and the new symbols that people thought were hex marks drawn on the walls of their shack made Nisha's day miserable already. Her day got a whole lot worse when a pack of five soldiers and a skinny man with a hood stepped out of the woods behind her.

"Meeses Gordener?" The man with the most lines drawn on the arm of his coat asked. "By orders of de king, ye be required to be a meetin' with him." What Nisha guessed was the captian stated in a heavy northern accent.

"I'm sorry, but I must politely turn down his highness' offer," said Nisha rigidly.

"Me sorry too lass, but ees not optional."

"I'm sure you can understand sir, I'm very busy. I must visit a sick uncle who needs comforting in his passing." Nisha hoped this would make them leave her alone. Maybe they too had been in a similar situation.

"To put it plainly Miss Gordener," The hooded man piped up, "We have reason to believe you possess magic. I am a trained magician. I can force you to come if I have to."

Great. A magician. With the spirits she had bound to her person for protection, she could probably kill them all and run away. Unfortunately, the king would no doubt be noting her absence if she didn't show, and if she weren't there they would assume she overpowered the magician. If she could do that, and defeat five soldiers while doing it, the king would no doubt hunt her down for service in the war. She weighed the positives and negatives of escape.

So far, it seemed they didn't know she was a sorcerer. If she met with Galbatorix, she might be left to go if she could conceal her power. Then again, this was Galbatorix, the most dangerous, thoroughly insane rider in history, she was considering meeting with.

"If you do not come with us right now, I will use force, Nisha."

Great, now they know my first name, thought Nisha. She fingered her necklace. All she needed to do was tap it three times to call her most trusted ally to help her. If only the consequences wouldn't be so severe for retaliation. She bit her lip in frustration. If only—

The hooded man spoke quickly in the ancient language, and before Nisha could defend herself, she collapsed on the ground.

"I told you to comply right now. You'll be staying with us on the road to Uru'baen, so I suggest you start getting used to taking orders quickly, and without hesitation. As it is, you must learn that refusal of our orders has painful consequences. I'm not a big fan of forgiveness. Learn quickly." The man told her in a frigid, hate-filled voice.

He stooped down, and put a hand on Nisha, muttering something in the ancient language. Nisha wasn't unconscious exactly. She couldn't move anything, even her eyes, which stared blankly at a tree in the woods. Her body still functioned though, as she could still breathe, and could still see that tree. She could still hear the man's horrible voice.

The worst part was that she could still feel the liquid fire the man sent coursing through her body. It was completely and perfectly horrible. The pain was the worst she had ever experienced in her life. She had once burned her hand on a teapot she took out of the oven. It had fallen and pinned her hand under it, so she couldn't free her hand from the burning metal until the dragon man had intervened. What was happening right now felt like that, except everywhere in her body at once, magnified ten times over. It was downright effective too, because it rendered her completely helpless, while still able to perceive the pain. She couldn't even call out for help. Nisha had never before been unable to scream when she was hurt. Now that she couldn't it felt like that little satisfaction that you got through screaming stayed trapped, making her pain even more unbearable.

"That's what I call a disciplinary session. Get up and behave, or you'll have another." The man warned her in a low voice. He said something in the ancient language again, and Nisha found that the pain was gone, and her muscles now functioned again.

"Come." Barked the hooded man, and Nisha obeyed, as did the soldiers. "We'll get a good start on the journey today. At sundown, we eat, and then sleep. Let's get moving!"

Their small party started walking towards the edge of town. She noted that the hooded man was having trouble keeping up with the brisk pace they were setting. He looked like those spells he had performed earlier had tired him out. Good. Thought Nisha. At least he's not too strong. As they got to the populated part of the village, the usual happened for Nisha. People ran to the other side of the street and gave her nervous glances. Luckily, none were brave enough to spit in the paths of Nisha and the soldiers. Whether it was out of genuine pity for her or fear of the soldiers, she couldn't say for sure. She suspected it was the latter.

As they were just about to leave the town, they stopped at a barn. They walked inside and a man ushered them towards seven horses.

"Kept 'em nice 'n cozy while you were gone eh?" said the barn owner. "They's been eatin' good for sure."

No one said anything, but the hooded man held out a meager amount of coins.

"Sorry man, but is not enough! Their's food alone cost more than that!" Stated the outraged barn owner.

"Consider yourself lucky you got anything at all. Operatives of the king deserve better than to deal with scum like you," said the hooded man icily.

The barn owner scowled, and took the coins anyway.

"Fine! Take the beasts! But don't ye be expecting for them to be stayin' here anymore!" The barn owner cut the horses' ropes off their tethers and led them over toward their group of soldiers. They all mounted, while Nisha noticed that the hooded man had trouble getting himself on. As they rode out of the barn into the midday sun, Nisha smiled. She would find his weaknesses. And when she did, she didn't plan on staying any longer than it took to kill him.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Great. They drugged her. As soon as Nisha had sat down for dinner, it seemed their whole party relaxed. Nisha had first assumed that they were happy to be off of a hard day's riding.

"Fool." She muttered to herself. She should have known they wouldn't take chances with her. Now she could barely put two thoughts together in her head. After she was drugged, she had no idea why she had been feeling this way. It had taken her sluggish brain nearly half an hour to arrive at the conclusion that they had drugged her dinner. Thoughts of escape drained away. The most complex plan she could make now was _I'm tired. I'll figure it out in the morning._ And that was exactly what she did.

Next morning Nisha felt a little better. Her head had cleared somewhat, and if she tried hard enough, she could think. She even concealed herself from their groups view enough to try a little magic. She was aiming for a tiny flame in her palm. She tried to remember the words of the ancient language to do that. Nothing. She could almost feel the words on the edge of her consciousness, slipping out of her grasp every time she tried to call upon them.

"Oi! Nisha! Get back here! You know what happens if you misbehave!" Barked the hooded man. "Now go get some breakfast from Tim over there!"

Nisha shuffled towards the group of soldiers. It turned out Tim was the soldier who had first greeted her in Juston, the one with the heavy northern accent. As she received her breakfast, thoughts rolled through her still woozy head. _Hmmm… Tim, that's a nice name for a northerner._

She burst into a fit of laughing. She rolled around on the ground and everyone stared at her like she was mad. She laughed so hard, tears started rolling down her cheeks. When she finally got a hold over herself, she looked up into the quizzical expressions of her party. Finally, the northerner broke the silence.

"Vat en da world was that?"

His accent triggered another fresh round of giggles and chuckles. When Nisha found she had stopped laughing, and was now only lying on the ground with the hiccups, she explained.

"Sorry sir." She said as she cracked a smile and suppressed a giggle. "It's just tha—*HIC*…its just that, well you're a northerner…and you know…*HIC*…northerner's are known-* HIC*…for their exotic, and strange names…and you're…*HIC*…you're just Tim!" She managed before she rolled on the ground in another fit of chuckles. She could picture a northerner meeting, taking attendance. There was a man calling off names on a list. "Mr. Engardefranceor, Sergeant Longfellowtuskington, Tim, Lady Andraginslin…" She broke into laughter once again. Only when she finished did she notice that she was not alone in her laughter. One of the soldiers who Nisha hadn't paid attention to before now was roaring with laughter. A deep throaty chuckle came out of him over and over again, making his mustache seem to jump around his face.

"I never thought of that before!" Managed the soldier in between laughs. "I like this girl!" He said resting a hand on Nisha's shoulder. "Got a good sense of humor, she does."

The soldier's smile slowly fell from his face. Tim was obviously outraged, and was glaring at Nisha and the laughing soldier like he wanted to personally drown them in a lake. The rest of the soldiers were solemn, fearing that their comrade might get a 'disciplinary session' from the hooded man.

When Nisha looked at the hooded man, she could see nothing of his features from under the shadowy cowl.

"Settle down and eat your breakfast Nisha." Was all the hooded man said.

Nisha walked away to the edge of their camp and stared out over the plain they had made rested at last night. She made a point of eating her breakfast slowly, for it was no doubt drugged just like her supper. She knew she would have to eat it eventually so she wouldn't starve. That didn't mean she had to like that fact. Because of this resolution to slow eating, she had barely touched her breakfast before the laughing soldier from before joined her.

"Hail Nisha!" The laughing soldier announced before he sat down next to her.

"Hello Mr.…" Nisha trailed off. She had no idea what any of the soldiers' names were besides Tim.

"Just call me Stephen." Said Stephen.

"Hello Stephen." Amended Nisha.

"That was a nice joke back there. It had me laughing my head off." Complimented Stephen.

"To some." Admitted Nisha. "They won't punish us for it, will they?"

"Nah, They won't, we were just having some fun."

Stephen didn't sound too convinced at what he said though.

"I don't know. Said Nisha. "Did you see the looks we were getting from Tim?" "Don't worry about Tim." Assured Stephen. "He always looks about twenty times more mad than he really is. You should have seen the shade of purple he turned when someone accidentally trampled his stash of beets. I'll never know why that man likes beets so much. If you ask me, I'd rather eat manure!"

"So how long until we reach Uru'baen?" Asked Nisha.

"Actually, we're fetching a platoon of soldiers from a military base in Terim. We'll reach Terim in about a day. Replied Stephen.

Nisha sighed. If she had still had her wits about her, she would have known they were traveling the wrong way to Uru'baen.

"Better eat up." Said Stephen. "We've got a long ride today."

Nisha scowled at him. "You know they're drugging me. Don't pretend you don't know."

Stephen sighed. "I'm sorry Nisha. I really am. I know you never wanted this. If it makes you feel any better, Bilgild is only drugging you because he's afraid of you."

"Who's Bilgild?" Asked Nisha.

"He's the magician that always wears his hood. He's kind of creepy if you ask me."

Nisha laughed. "You definitely got that part right!"

"Anyway, Bilgild doesn't know how powerful you are, and no offense, but until you pledge your allegiance to Galbotorix, you're sort of a loose cannon to us. Who knows? If you weren't drugged you might kill us all with a wave of your hand."

Bilgild looked over at them and noticed that Nisha had barely eaten anything on her plate. "Nisha! Finish that quickly! As soon as you do, we ride! Stephen, get over here and help with the horses!"

"It seems our chat must come to a close. See you by the horses in a few minutes." Said Stephen as he walked away.

Nisha sighed. She had enjoyed her talk with Stephen. She ate her food. Before her mind totally slid into its drugged state, she resolved that if she did escape, she wouldn't hurt Stephen on her way out.


	3. Chapter 3

The trip to Terim was very uneventful for Nisha. She could barely remember anything of it, other than small periods of clarity before breakfast. The drug seemed to put a layer of fog around her thoughts. From their daytime travels she could vaguely remember the mountains of the spine, skirting around the coastline, and a comical trip across the Toark River. She wasn't sure, but if her memory proved correctly, one of their horses had fallen off the barge on the way across. She didn't know what events caused this, but also remembered that soon after the horse went over, it was safely on the barge. Tim wasn't so lucky. She partially remembered looking over and seeing Tim in the water, screaming for help. If her flawed memory served her well, Tim was convinced there was a sea monster below him, trying to eat him. She also got to see the shade of purple on Tim's face Stephen had described to her earlier.

All in all, nothing else really happened to Nisha on the trip to Terim. There were no daring escape attempt, sorry to all you action-lovers out there. The most exiting thing that really happened was probably a couple chats with Stephen.

They arrived in Terim late in the afternoon. They found an inn, and stayed the night. When Nisha woke up, she found she was sleeping on the ground, sharing a room with a soldier named Arnold. Her head was the usual less-sluggish-than-normal-because-its-morning. She sat up and sifted through thoughts. Although it took a little effort, She remembered where she was, and was a little excited even though she was still in captivity. Terim was a big city. The biggest city she'd ever been in was Kusta, and it was barely large enough to be called a city. Hopefully, she would be able to retain some memory of this place despite her drugged condition.

"Ah, good, you're up." Said Arnold. "Better get ready to go, it's going to be an early start today!"

Nisha didn't care. Her days always went by in a blur anyway. Why did she care if her day started early? She didn't need to do anything anyway.

"Tim needs to meet with the mayor nice 'n early. Gonna take a while to get all the soldiers ready to march!"

Nisha didn't really mind Arnold. He was nice enough, but always had a tone of voice that told you he'd much rather be doing something else than talking to a half-comprehending teenager.

The door opened, and Tim stepped inside their room.

"Rise en shine! Ees an early start today! Get up!" said Tim in a voice the neighboring rooms were likely to complain about later. Tim looked rather pale, no doubt nervous with his meeting with the mayor. Also, some soldiers would have grown accustomed to Terim. Making them part with this beautiful seaside city would not be easy.

Nisha got up quietly as Tim left their room. She waited until Arnold got up, and then told him to leave the room while she dressed. After she did, she waited outside for Arnold to do the same. When Arnold came out, she followed him to the main room at the bottom of the inn. She saw that Stephen and another soldier were already there.

Nisha took the seat next to Stephen and saw he was grinning at her.

"Riley here has been a soldier longer than me. He said that last time his team picked up some soldiers from Dras-Leona, They got the day off." Stephen told her.

"Aye, I was there too." Said Arnold. "We got a free day to roam the city as we pleased. They didn't need us to do anythin' while Tim was meetin' with the mayor."

"Could we get a day like that here?" Asked Nisha hopefully.

"Maybe." Replied Riley. "Depends on what Bilgild says."

"What depends on what I say?" Asked Bilgild coolly as he walked towards their table with Tim and another soldier. There was an awkward pause where no one said anything until Arnold cleared his throat.

"We were, um… just wonderin' if we maybe could get the day off today? Last time in Dras-Leona, we didn't have anythin' to do when Tim met with the mayor."

"And what makes you think the soldiers we're picking up will just magically appear before us?" Asked Bilgild.

"Well um… last time, the meetin' with the mayor took most of the day. It ran into late afternoon. We won't have any clearance to round up the troops 'till it's over." Said Arnold sheepishly.

You couldn't see Bilgild's face, but his jaw was no doubt grinding as he tried to think of a reason to keep them.

"Fine." Bilgild said icily. "But be back here by noon in case the meeting gets out early."

The cheers of the soldiers no doubt woke the rest of the inn that had not already been woken by Tim's loud voice.

"Someone needs to watch Nisha though." Added Bilgild. "And eat breakfast before you go into town."

"I'll watch Nisha." Volunteered Stephen.

"Fine." Replied Bilgild unhappily. "Come on Tim, we'd better meet with the mayor."

Bilgild and Tim walked out of the inn, skipping the breakfast they were so insistent the rest of them eat. Cheers started anew as the soldiers crowded around Arnold, who was on food duty for the day. Nisha got her breakfast and sat down across the room at a deserted table. Stephen sat down across from her.

"I can't wait to Tour Terim!" exclaimed Stephen enthusiastically. "I've been here before, but I can't wait too stroll around it freely."

Nisha glared at him.

"Some of us will be too drugged to even remember it."

"Well, 'some of us' should accept the fact that it's not my fault!" countered Stephen.

"Couldn't you let me skip breakfast, just this once?" Pleaded Nisha.

"We've been through this before, Nisha. You know I can't let you do that. As much as I trust you, there's no way for me to be sure you won't incinerate me once your off this stuff." Said Stephen.

Nisha ate the rest of her breakfast in silence. When she finished, Stephen led her out the door and into the sunny streets of the city. Stephen started describing the layout of the city to Nisha as they walked along alleyways. Her grip on the world slowly started to fade away as the drug took hold. She remembered a few details, like the smell of salty water at the port, and the taste of an orange that Stephen had bought for her. Stephen seemed to be having a great time despite the fact he was dragging a drooling teenager around behind him. Nisha's day was mostly uneventful until she passed a small herbalist's shop.

Stephen was talking to Nisha at the time when they went by the shop. When Nisha looked at the shop she made a small sound, startling Stephen.

"What is it?" asked Stephen, confused. It was the first time she'd done anything she wasn't prompted to do by someone.

"Its…" Nisha trailed off, struggling for the right words. "It feels like home." She remembered lazy afternoons with the dragon man, looking at herbs and studying their nature. She frowned as she recalled her last moments with the dragon man. She hadn't had time to say goodbye.

"Do you want to go in?" asked Stephen.

"Yes." said Nisha wistfully. "I would like that."

Stephen led her through a dirty door, into the shop. A small bell rang, triggered by the door opening. At first, the store seemed to be deserted, but a small woman stepped out of a room behind the desk and greeted them.

"Hello. Wouldn't expect a soldier in here normally. My name's Angela." said Angela, not offering a handshake. She looked up nervously at Stephen.

"Don't worry, I'm off duty." Stephen told Angela. "This is Nisha," said Stephen, resting a hand on Nisha's shoulder. "I never would have known it, but she's a big fan of herbs and the like."

"Is she now?" said Angela, raising her eyebrows. "Then I'd better show her around."

Angela took Nisha's arm, and led her off towards some shelves.

"We have about everything here. Thyme, Mint, Rosemary, Oregano-"

She stopped abruptly, her gaze shifted to a strange looking cat on the ground. It licked its paw as its tail flicked back and forth. Nisha hesitated, her mind not making sense of the situation.

"Is something wrong?" asked Nisha.

"No, no, not at all. He usually doesn't like customers, that's all."

The herbalist stared at the cat for a while, and then studied Nisha skeptically.

"I don't know why h-" Angela recoiled at the sight of Nisha's necklace. It was a simple thing, just a piece of metal with a strange symbol on it. The storeowner's eyes searched her, and also found a small but exotic bracelet she wore on her left wrist. It was decorated by a pattern of hundreds of metal birds of all different colors.

"May I speak to you in private please?" asked Angela, looking nervously again at Stephen. Nisha stared at Stephen, silently asking for his permission. Stephen shifted from foot to foot, contemplating the situation.

"Make it quick," he said finally, obviously nervous about letting Nisha out of his sight.

"Excellent!" exclaimed Angela as she rushed Nisha into the back room. Nisha noticed that the cat followed them in.

"You can take a seat if you want." said Angela, gesturing at a small table with two seats. Nisha sat, and Angela immediately sat across from her. Nisha looked up into Angela's grinning face.

"I've met many interesting people in this store, but I can't say I've ever had the pleasure of meeting a sorceress here."

Angela looked expectantly into Nisha's uncomprehending face.

"Oh! I get it!" Exclaimed Angela. "You got captured in Galbatorix's hunt for magic. Now, a couple soldiers are keeping you drugged up, and escorting you to Uru' baen."

Nisha still stared blankly at her.

"We can't let you do that, now can we?" said Angela. "Well, guess what? You came to the right person!"

Angela got up and started rummaging around in her supplies near the back of the room. She pulled out two small vials of blue liquid and walked back towards the table.

"Here, drink this now. It will counter the dope. When you're thinking clearly again, I still want you to act drugged. Take the other vial after your dinner, and sneak out during the night. Meet me back here when you escape. Remember, I'll be waiting!"

She waited until Nisha drank one vial. After she did, Angela stuffed the other vial into Nisha's blouse pocket. Angela told Nisha the plan again, then ushered her out of the room.

"Now remember!" said Angela loudly so Stephen could hear. "If you ever need any plants, come see me!"

"Come on Nisha," said Stephen "Its almost noon, we should get back to the inn."

Nisha followed Stephen out the door of the shop. She smiled to herself when Stephen wasn't looking. Her head was starting to clear already. With the plan she made with Angela fresh in her mind, she stepped into the inn with Stephen. Soon, so soon, she would be free.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Nisha stared out the window, fingers drumming on a bedside table. She almost wished the strange herbalist Angela had only given her the dose she was supposed to take at dinner. She bit her lip and took in the view. She was very glad she was able to take in the view of the city on a clear mind. The orange glow of the setting sun reflected off the ocean, making its glittering surface seem to catch fire.

She tapped her foot on the ground impatiently. Why did time go by so slowly? She longed just to run downstairs, out the door, and back into the herbalist's shop. Freedom was so close! She had been waiting half the day already, and needed to wait a few more hours until the soldiers went to sleep. Her wait had been so boring. After Stephen was needed to round up the soldiers they were fetching, Bilgild carted her around. She sat through countless, pointless talks with the upper class of Terim. During them, she received dirty looks from house owners, for she was forced to appear drooling and stupid.

How she yearned to get up and give Bilgild a 'disciplinary session' of his own. She had no doubt in her mind that she could take on Bilgild with the help of her spirits. He was a weak magician, and knew little in the ways of magic besides torture. How could you learn about the most riveting practice in Alagaesia and use it only to cause pain? The thought disgusted her.

_Speaking of magic…_Nisha's thought trailed off. She glanced behind her to make sure there was no one else in the room. She opened up her palm and whispered "Brisingr!"

A small spark kindled in her hand. Nisha smiled. She manipulated it into a raging inferno that framed the window. She waved her hand to cut off the flow of power, leaving the window and her hand unharmed. She glanced down at her bracelet and took off her necklace to admire it. Bilgild was a fool. He knew nothing of sorcery. She hated him for confiscating one of her spirits. She sighed. A ring made entirely of letters of the ancient language was too much of a clue for even Bilgild to miss. When they had first made camp after Nisha had been kidnapped Bilgild took her ring.

Arnold opened the door and looked at Nisha.

"Oh good, you're already in your nightclothes." Said Arnold. "You should get some sleep now. It's gonna be another early one tomorrow!"

Nisha said nothing, but faked a yawn and pretended to settle down in her makeshift bed of blankets. While she had been in her world of thoughts, the sun had slipped under the horizon. Arnold climbed into his bed and settled down too. He doused the lamp on the table and arranged the blankets to his liking. After that, he was silent.

Nisha was not as relaxed. She tossed and turned in anticipation, undoubtedly annoying Arnold. The hours went by though, and when Nisha thought it was late enough, she stopped turning and listened. She couldn't hear anyone in the inn talking or making any other noise except for Arnold. His breathing was deep and even. Somehow during Nisha's restless shifting, he had gotten to sleep.

Nisha got up, trying to be silent. She had no such luck. Walking around the inn during the day, she hadn't notice how squeaky the floor was. Every step brought a groan or creak. She grit her teeth and tried to step lightly as she crept towards the door.

She opened the door, and was glad to find that its hinges were well oiled. She walked outside of the room and into the upstairs hallway. She let out a sigh of relief to find there wasn't a guard in the hallway. Nisha continued down the hallway, thanking the gods they weren't on the road. If they had been, a regular guard would've made an unnoticed escape impossible.

When she found the stairs, she descended as quietly as she could. Unfortunately, the stairs were just as squeaky as the rest of the inn, if not more so. Her luck held out though, for no one had challenged her when she reached the bottom. Dirt. She dug her bare feet into the soil. Now she could be silent.

Nisha scanned the room. No one. She stalked across the lobby and found the door. She searched it for any locks, and found only a small bolt keeping it closed. She unlatched it and turned the knob. The door opened, although not as silently as the door to her room. She turned to face the dark streets.

Nisha walked out of the inn and closed the door behind her. She strode confidently into the streets. When she reached the center of the street she looked both ways. Not a soul could be seen. She started to walk down the street, but stopped and frowned. She realized she didn't have a clue how to get to Angela's shop. She tried to think back, but her memory from when she was drugged was foggy. It didn't matter anyway. She had taken such a complicated route with Stephen while touring Terim; she would be lost in seconds even if she did have a clear memory.

Nisha looked both ways again. One way seemed to lead towards the market. She tried to recall why this was odd. She almost shouted "Aha!" into the darkness, but clamped a hand over her mouth at the last second. The herbalist's shop had not been anywhere near the market! Biting her lip, she decided to take the way leading away from the market.

Her pride in her logic lasted about two seconds before she was hopelessly lost. At the next fork in the road, she picked her brain for any possible memory of the intersection. Nothing. She gave an exasperated sigh and sat down on the curb. Guessing was getting her nowhere.

She had wanted to get through the night without using magic. Now, it seemed she had no choice if she wanted to get to Angela before morning.

Nisha spun her bracelet around her wrist once. After she took it off, muttered some words in the ancient language, and threw it into the air. It stayed suspended, while the little metal birds peeled off it. The birds grew in size, until they were each about the size of a pigeon. The birds flew down towards Nisha when their transformation into 367 exotically colored birds was complete. They encircled her, and waited patiently for their orders. The bracelet fell to the ground, and Nisha picked it up and put it back on her wrist. The bracelet was now just a simple piece of metal on her wrist, unadorned by any decoration.

"I want you to find me a small herbalist's shop. It should be near the edge of the city. When you find it, map out the streets so you can lead me to it." Ordered Nisha in English. (It had taken a long time, but she had taught the birds to respond to her when she spoke in English. She had tried with her other spirits, but the birds were the only ones to take a liking to the language. When they were animated, they even spoke to each other in English.)

"Yes mistress." The birds chorused as one. They started to fly off, but stopped to listen to something.

"Hey Ted!" a man said from somewhere close. He was at the least two streets away. "Did you hear that?"

"Yeah!" Spoke he man called Ted. "I'm gonna go check it out."

Nisha heard footsteps coming from up ahead. She ducked behind a corner and whispered urgently to the birds, "Scrap my last order, just distract those two!"

The birds seemed to grin in unison. They loved causing mischief in Nisha's world. The birds flew off, all landing in different spots. When they were all settled, a bird a street over from Nisha yelled, "My word! Have you heard? That Nerd is a bird!"

"I said my head was full of lead, and really, so is yours Ted." Called another from another direction. The man called Ted looked all over as birds everywhere started calling things like, "I lack the tact to hack Zach, but not Mack, oh deary Mack!" or, "Great. My late mate is Kate. Late is late, but not for fate."

They continued with rhyming nonsense for a couple of minutes. After a little while, they laughed in unison. They kept at it up until the night watchmen were on their knees, begging for the gods to spare them. And the birds did stop, because Nisha called one bird over and gave it orders.

"Great job right now, really its great! I want you to convey these orders to the rest of you." Said Nisha to the bird. "I want 184 of you to search for the herbalist's shop I mentioned earlier. I want the other 183 to continue to distract all the people that come out to bring order to the streets. You can go all around the city if you need to, just don't let them find me! I'll be hiding back here. When you find the shop, lead me to it."

The bird stood still for a few seconds, looking like it was deeply concentrating. When it was done, it flapped its wings and said, "They have been informed." The bird flew into the air, either searching or distracting. Nisha didn't know which. If you looked into the sky, you could see birds flying everywhere, making it look like there was a meteor shower of brightly colored shapes rocketing through the sky. Citizens everywhere came out into the street, demanding to know what all the ruckus was about. Adding to the noise were birds imitating human voices and shouting confusing nonsense into the crowd. Night watchmen and soldiers ordered people back into their homes while searching for the 'people' that were saying the rhymes. Long story short, Terim was in complete chaos.

Nisha sat in her hiding place, waiting impatiently. What if someone found her? What if someone found out this was all her fault and imprisoned her? Questions like these swam in her mind while she listened to the confusion. She smiled. This is what Galbatorix deserved for capturing her and drugging her. This mess could take quite a while to clean up.

"Mistress Nisha."

Nisha jumped up startled. She calmed down when she saw the small, bright blue bird that had spoken to her.

"We have found this shop you sent us to find. If you will allow me, I can show you the way there."

"Yes please." Said Nisha. The bird hopped onto her shoulder and told her to go onto the street. Nisha obeyed and looked down the street at the chaos. People were jeering at officials, seeing that the officials weren't in control of the situation. Soldiers yelled for order, but their shouts did little more than add to the noise level.

"Forward." Said the bird on Nisha's shoulder, and Nisha obeyed. She ran at a fast paced jog, dodging the crowds that threatened to stop her.

"Left." Said the bird, guiding her once again.

"We're going _towards_ the market?" realized Nisha disbelievingly.

"Yes mistress, going through it is the quickest way to the shop."

The streets got even more crowded as they neared the market. Nisha's progress was slowed to a brisk walk as she navigated the crowded streets. When they got in the market, Nisha saw that people were attempting to start a full-blown riot against high taxes and mistreatment. Stall owners at the market were making a small fortune selling brooches and junk inscribed with something like, 'I attended the Terim riot!' or 'Join the resistance!'

The blue bird on her shoulder (Tehe!) continued to give her directions. No one seemed to notice or care about a girl with a blue bird talking to her. When they finally reached Angela's shop, Nisha thanked the bird and walked into an alleyway. She found her bracelet and spun it around her wrist twice. She spoke a few words in the ancient language and threw the bracelet in the air for the second time tonight. The birds all shrank into their tiny metal forms and flew at the bracelet. They stuck themselves back into place, and then the bracelet fell back to the ground. Nisha put it back onto her wrist and walked towards the shop. She tried the knob, and found that Angela had left the door open for her. Good thing looters wouldn't be very interested in plants. Whether that was good for Angela or for the looters, Nisha didn't know.

Nisha walked inside and found the shop deserted. _That's weird._ Thought Nisha. _Wouldn't she have stayed up and waited for me?_ Nisha searched the room one more time and decided to check the back room. She opened the door.

"NO! PLEASE NO! GAH! ROASTED CABBAGE!" Nisha walked into the room and found Angela screaming in her sleep. Nisha smiled and woke her.

"Wha—Oh, its you. Why did you wake me from my nap?" demanded Angela

"I thought you might be at least a little interested that I'm here!" Said Nisha.

"Well what did you expect? A trumpet fanfare? Maybe we should get the king to throw you a feast!"

"You didn't care in the least about what happened to me?" asked Nisha hurt.

"I never said that now did I? Besides, you're already doomed. DOOMED!" Said Angela

"What do you mean?" asked the scared Nisha.

"Mmm? Oh right, doomed to your own fate, yada-yada-yada. It's all good."

Nisha laughed.

"What's all that racket about anyway?" asked Angela.

"Mmm? Oh, just started a riot on my way here, nothing special." Said Nisha mockingly.

Angela raised her eyebrows. "Nothing special you say? Good! You won't mind if I catch up on my sleep then!" Angela rolled over and was silent. Nisha sat down at the table she had sat at yesterday. She didn't even bother trying to sleep after the night's excitement.

Nisha smiled, content. She was finally free. Even if Angela was the oddest person she had met, she was beginning to like her.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's note: I'm sorry if it took me a while to update this chapter, but I was very busy with events that may have included staying up until 2:00 in the morning reading about a certian djinn named Bartimaeus and the Ring of Solomon. My lame obsesions aside, I will try to update this more quickly. One more thing. A wise man once told me that rewiews are like potato chips. You can't have just a couple! If you get my meaning, rewiew like your life depends on it! (It might, you never really can know!) Also, thanks to the people thoughtful enough to have already reviewed my story! **

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Chapter 5

Nisha jumped to her feet after being poked none too gently by Angela. In spite of herself, Nisha had fallen asleep after she reached Angela's shop.

"Hey!" Protested Nisha. " You didn't need to do that!"

Angela looked at her quizzically, like she was trying to teach a child common knowledge that was too simple to put into words.

"Well of course not, but its ten times more fun than waiting for you to wake up!" Said Angela, waving Nisha's protests away. The herbalist walked into the store, out of the room they were in now. Nisha didn't know what to call the room she was currently in. The best name she could think of it was the storeroom/bedroom/kitchen/study/living room. It had a little bit of everything in it.

Nisha followed Angela into the shop, noticing the cat from yesterday in the corner of the storeroom/bedroom/kitchen/study/living room. Angela flipped a sign on the door so that it read 'open.' Nisha looked out a window and surveyed the wreckage from the riots. Trash littered the roads, and wealthier looking houses had smashed windows. She couldn't see any of the rioters, but that didn't mean they weren't just regrouping at the market. She smiled and thought to herself, _sorry Terim, but next time, you'd better think twice before you abduct me._

"Done sightseeing?" asked a voice behind her. Nisha jumped into the air. Angela possessed the uncanny ability to sneak up on people, as Nisha would later learn.

"I'll take that as a yes." Said Angela as she shoved a broom into Nisha's hands.

"If you're going to stay here, you'd better earn your keep. Time to sweep the floors. If it means anything to you, I kept them nice and filthy so your job wouldn't be so easy! Have fun!"

Nisha stared dumbfounded at Angela for a second, disbelieving that it was even possible to be pressed into a task that quickly. Angela grinned and walked over to a chair behind the main counter. She put her legs up on the counter and looked expectantly at Nisha. Nisha blushed and started sweeping. Angela wasn't lying. The floors were filthy. _I never remembered the floors being this bad from yesterday! _Thought Nisha with distain. On the other hand, she had been drugged and traumatized, so details like a dirty floor weren't on the top of her list of things to remember yesterday. _Besides, what would she do? Throw dirt on the floor while she was sleeping? _The thought seemed funny at first, but Nisha slowly realized that from what she'd seen of Angela so far meant that she wouldn't put it past the herbalist to do that.

Nisha worked hard for at least half an hour, but the floors were so dirty it was impossible to get the entire residue. When Nisha felt she was almost done, Angela looked up from a book she had acquired (how she did Nisha had no idea. The woman had been at the counter the whole time, and Nisha was sure there had been no book on it before.) She peered down at the floor with a scowl.

"You call that a sweeping? You swept all the dirt into grime!" called out Angela in disgust. Nisha looked down at the floors. Sure enough there was a layer of grime on the floor. Nisha gaped at it. There was no way that had been there before!

"I—I can assure you—I never did anything of the kind!" Struggled Nisha.

"Excuses, excuses. Get a bucket from the back room. There's a tap at the end of the road. There'll be some soap and a rag in the back room too. If you can't find them, ask Solembum."

Nisha couldn't believe her ears.

"The whole of Terim is probably looking for me right now! Not to mention, a whole riot could burst down the street at any moment, and you want _me_ to fetch the water?"

Angela stared at her nonplussed. She blinked once then went back to her book. Nisha was not so calm. She burst into the storeroom, grabbed the first bucket she found, figured out it was full of a black powder she accidentally dumped on herself, swore colorfully, and stormed out the door. Why was Angela being so mean all of a sudden? She had struck her as a nice person at first, even if she had a very interesting way of expressing herself. She was anything but nice now.

Nisha went to the end of the street and got the water. She came back to the store, none too happy about the fact, and went into the back room again. She searched for the soap for a little while, but to no avail. She recalled Angela's words, _if you can't find them, ask Solembum._ Who was that? Her gaze searched the room and fell onto the strange cat Angela kept with her. Nisha cracked a smile.

"Are you Solembum?" She asked the cat, bemused. She had known Angela was a bit strange, but she had never thought she was insane enough to expect answers from a cat.

_What do you think?_

Nisha jumped and yelped in surprise. _Spirit! _She searched the room, looking for a weapon. A foreign voice had spoken in her head. That she had no doubt about. She picked up a metal pitchfork resting in the corner and scanned the room.

No one seemed to be there. That didn't mean there wasn't a rouge spirit there. From her experiences in magic, only spirits could speak in her head like that. She fingered her necklace, preparing to call upon her guardian spirit. The cat hissed at her when her fingers touched her necklace.

_There's really no need for that._

The cat glared at the necklace. Nisha looked at the cat confused. Had the cat spoken to her?

"Did you say that?" asked Nisha. The cat eyed her balefully.

_You really aren't a very talented sorceress._

"Hey!" protested Nisha. "How come you can speak to me? Are you a free spirit?" The cat curled up on the floor, bored.

_Do you really think that only spirits can speak in your mind?_

"Umm, yes?"

_You really need to learn some things from Angela. If you're wondering, the soap is under the bed._

Nisha looked at the cat startled. How did it know she was looking for the soap? She walked over to the bed and searched under it. Sure enough, there were a couple bars of soap.

"Ah, thanks." Said Nisha, still uncomfortable with talking to the cat. She added the soap to the bucket of water and let it dissolve a little. She walked back into the store.

"You never told me—

"No time to talk! Floors to be washed!" Angela cut her off.

Nisha, speechless, picked up a rag and started to scrub the grime off the floor. Fuming she grumbled curses at the grimy floor, which seemed to have obtained an oily, resistant quality while she was fetching water. She worked hard for well over an hour and a half. When she was satisfied with her work, and was about to tell Angela she was finished, Angela barked, "Clean the windows." The herbalist never took her eyes off her book.

Nisha, more aggravated than ever, moved to the windows of the shop. Just like everything else in the shop, it was filthy. She cleaned just as hard as she had been the rest of the morning, and soon was finished with the only three windows the building contained. Once again, Angela ordered Nisha to a different chore, barely a second after she finished.

Nisha's day continued like this the rest of the day, hatred for Angela growing inside of her. She longed to tell the woman to do something herself for once. Nisha didn't though, because this was the person who had saved her from a life in Galbatorix's army.

Still, Angela ordered her about, sending her to do more difficult, and even dangerous tasks for Nisha at times.

"Clean the roof! Fetch some herbs at the market! Sort the shelves!" Angela's orders were Nisha's command. Her day was miserable until Angela called the odd order of, "Kill me!"

Nisha grabbed a leathery rope off the shelves. She lashed out with her makeshift whip at Angela. The small herbalist easily ducked under her blow. It took Nisha a little while to realize what she was doing. She was so used to taking orders from Angela, she had mindlessly attempted to strike Angela with the whip. When she finally did realize she was attacking the Herbalist relentlessly, she paused and stared down at the whip/rope in bewilderment. She recalled Angela's odd order and looked up into the grinning face of the herbalist.

"If you don't want to continue, you could buy me a few candles at the store on the other side of Terim?" Offered Angela.

Nisha looked back down at the whip and grinned too. "This was all your plan wasn't it? To get me mad so I wouldn't question you when you told me to kill you?"

Angela's grin widened. "Might've planned something along those lines. It was a great system. I got to enjoy a book, have the shop cleaned up, and get to assess your fighting abilities! In your view, you might be a little indignant, but you got to meet Solembum! Besides, our dignity is just the false title we give to all the moral weakness we may have. I'd judge it as a win-win-win-lose-win!"

"Well even if it was all for my own good, I wouldn't want to ruin your plan by giving you a lousy fight, now would I?" yelled Nisha as she struck out with her weapon once again. Renewed anger that Angela had planned this in that diabolical mind of hers strengthened her blows. Still Angela was clearly a seasoned fighter. She dodged all of Nisha's blows, and gave her countless bruises with the dulled edge of a strange weapon. It looked like a quarterstaff, but it had twin blades attached to each end.

Nisha tried feints, turns, jumps and the like, but no matter how hard she tried, it was impossible to get near the herbalist without being jabbed swiftly in the ribcage, or being shoved across the room. When Nisha could barely lift her whip at all, Angela jumped directly in front of her and pressed the point of one of the blades on her staff into Nisha's throat.

"Lemon-spotted tree frog!" the herbalist shouted in Nisha's face. Nisha tripped backwards, terrified. Angela doubled over in laughter. The herbalist gasped for breath, and could barely form a whole sentence.

"Oh, what fun that was! You should have seen your face!" The herbalist gasped for breath between laughs. Nisha was content to sit on the floor where she had fallen. The impact on the cold, hard floor had not been very comfortable for the bruises covering her body. Nisha stared up at Angela, expressionless.

"Oh, come on! Don't be like that! I've been holding this laughter in the whole day! You make the funniest expressions when you're mad!"

Nisha couldn't help but crack a smile at that. "The dragon man used to tell me I looked like a bloated toad when I'm mad."

When Angela was finally able to control her laughter, she said, "Bloated frog, deary, toads don't exist."

"What?" Asked Nisha in bewilderment.

"Never mind, that's a discussion for another day. In the meantime, we need to discuss our little fight. First of all, we need to speak about your odd choice of weapon. Why in the world would you pick a whip-like rope out of all those? It wasn't even in the assortment!" Exclaimed Angela as she gestured to a wall. On one of the shelves, Angela had laid out countless weapons for Nisha to choose when she had received the order to kill her. Swords, daggers, bows, crossbows, and even a gigantic war-hammer were laid out, seemingly hoping that Nisha would choose them for battle. Nisha however, recalled that in her moments of following the 'kill me' order blindly, she had subconsciously seen all of the weapons, considered them for her task, and cast the thought of using them aside. When her eyes caught the rope, she had taken it without hesitation.

"I really don't know why I chose the whip. Thinking back on it, I had seen all the weapons, but they just didn't seem right. When I saw the rope, it was like it was meant for me." Told Nisha to Angela.

"May I point out that you didn't even hit yourself once accidentally with the whip? Whips can be unpredictable when used in battle, although they rarely are, and getting hit yourself while drawing it back is common." Spoke Angela, looking expectantly at Nisha.

"I don't know why that happened that way." Admitted Nisha. Angela said nothing but continued to stare expectantly at Nisha. After a few seconds, Nisha asked the herbalist why she was looking at her like that.

"Well you haven't answered my question yet, now have you? You just ignored it and kept going."

Nisha stared at Angela confused. She didn't remember the herbalist asking her any questions.

"Ummm... I'm sorry, but I don't recall you asking me any questions." Said Nisha.

"I asked if I might point out that you didn't hit yourself with the whip." Answered Angela.

Nisha looked at the herbalist, more confused than ever. "I'm sorry, but wasn't that a statement?"

Angela howled with renewed laughter. "Oh, what fun you can have with words if you put them in the correct order! Now for the third time, may I _please_ point out that you didn't hit yourself accidentally with the whip?"

"Ummm…yes?" Said Nisha cautiously, not knowing what would occur because of her answer.

"Then you didn't even hit yourself once accidentally with the whip? Whips can be unpredictable when used in battle, although they rarely are, and getting hit yourself while drawing it back is common."

Nisha was now officially lost in the conversation. "But didn't you already state that?"

Once again, Angela chuckled loudly. "I asked if I might state it before. Now, I officially stated it! Anyway, enough of my fun, its time for more testing! Go grab that sword back there and come kill me."

Nisha, glad to be in a situation where she had at least some idea of what was going on in the herbalist's mind, walked over to the sword and picked it up. It was too heavy for her liking. She ran at Angela and did her best to land a blow, but her attacks were clumsy and slow. Angela quickly disarmed her and yelled, "Next!" while gesturing at the weapons rack. Nisha slowly went through different choices. She couldn't aim in the slightest with the bow, and the added weight of the crossbow compared to the bow made her accuracy with the latter even worse. She could barely lift the mace or war-hammer, and even failed to use the dagger properly. Nisha lacked the bravery needed to get in close quarters with her opponent while using the dagger. At one point, Angela handed Nisha her own strange weapon to try. The results were the same as the other weapons. Complete humiliation. Angela wrestled away the weapon, and won the fight using her bare hands. When the finally ran out of weapons, Angela told Nisha to sit, old and new bruises protesting as she complied.

"I guess you really can only use a whip. It's a very odd choice. It has its upsides and downsides. The first, biggest advantage, is that a swordsman will have about the same chance of blocking a whip with his sword as Christopher Paolini breaking the fourth wall."

"What?" Asked Nisha, confused.

"Nothing, nothing, don't worry, but the point is, its not going to happen. This goes the other way too. If a person with a whip could block a sword thrust, I'd like to be there to see it, because I doubt its possible. Although many people may not think of it, my intellectual expertise has cleverly deducted that it would be a very good weapon to conceal on your person. If you wear a short whip as a belt, I doubt anyone searching you would confiscate it."

Nisha looked out the window. Dusk had already fallen. Once she got a hold of the weapons, the day had flown past her. Unfortunately, the chores before had been painstakingly slow. She almost would have swapped them for another set of bruises from Angela. Almost. Nisha stood up and groaned.

"You just had to do that to me earlier didn't you." Asked Nisha. Angela sighed.

"Dear I believe we've already covered this element. I had thought you a quick learner. I must have been mistaken. Under no circumstances did I _have _to, but what would be the fun of simply handing you a sword? I might've missed out on all your angry faces! Now if I were a normal person, and I pride myself in completely the opposite of that, I might say that if I hadn't known better, I'd have thought you were constipated. But, since I really didn't want to check to make sure you weren't, for all I know you could have been! Now ta-ta! It's late! Off to bed with you! Might be another early morning! You never can tell now can you?"

Nisha was practically shoved towards the back room's door. She blinked in confusion. Who was Angela? She even admitted to not being normal. Nisha yawned. It was getting late. Whoever she was, she had saved her, and at least until morning, that was enough for Nisha.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Nisha hissed in frustration. How in the world could the witch's defenses be so impenetrable? Nisha glared at her from across the table. This fight had already gone on too long, with no one gaining any ground. It was time to take a chance.

Nisha jumped out from behind the table into the open. Saying a silent prayer, she threw her small, round shield at Angela. The herbalist dodged it, but the shield held Angela's attention long enough for Nisha to strike at her. Her whip caught Angela's ankle, causing the herbalist to trip backwards onto the floor. Seeing her advantage, Nisha drew two short swords. She had taken a liking to them after later discovering them in the back room. They were light enough for her to use, and were just long enough in Nisha's opinion.

Leaping across the space that separated them, Nisha struck out repeatedly at the herbalist. Blow after blow, Nisha pounded at the witch. None of her blows ever got to her. Angela had dropped her huthvirn and had drawn two of her own daggers while she was on the ground. As fast as Nisha was, she hadn't really expected to hit the witch. Angela was much too fast to be defeated so easily.

Angela snarled and kicked Nisha in the stomach with both legs. Nisha reeled backwards, attempting to stay on her feet. She was balanced shakily, with her back almost parallel to the ground when Angela pounced in front of her. Nisha gritted her teeth and waited for the onslaught to begin. She didn't need to wait very long. Almost as soon as she landed, Angela grinned and began her attack. Nisha let her reflexes take over, blocking daggers that seemed to be everywhere. She marveled at how much she had improved. Weeks ago, every strike from the herbalist would have earned her a new bruise. Now defending herself as solidly as you could while in danger of disturbing her delicate balance, she assessed her situation. She counted to three. In those three seconds, she had blocked eight dagger strikes from the herbalist. _Good!_ Thought Nisha. _She's tiring!_ Usually, Angela averaged about four blows per second with her double daggers. Her fall on the ground must have shaken her.

After a particularly hard hit from Angela, Nisha's knees buckled and sent her crashing to the ground. Seeing stars, Nisha was not very encouraged by the way the battle was going._ Oh well. Might as well go out with a bang._ Nisha rolled away from Angela's attack. She found her necklace and tapped it three times. Nisha looked over at Angela as she waited for her guardian to appear. Angela cackled like only Angela could. One of the few rules of their spars was that Angela, far Nisha's superior in the ways of magic, would not use magic unless Nisha did.

The room grew cold, and the light that entered the store dimmed. The shadows grew long, longer than they had any right to be. Nisha's necklace, however, had turned into pure darkness. A black, more rich and dark than any other type coated it. A black mist seeped out of the rune etched into its surface. When the mist stopped, it condensed into a somewhat humanoid shape of shadow. Nisha gave it orders in the ancient language. Protect me and capture the herbalist alive was a rough translation.

Angela watched this process intently, watching the shadow with a malevolent eye. She jumped much too far than she should have been able to, in front of the far wall from Nisha.

"Malthinae vindr a eka!" yelled Angela into the air. The room changed, although Nisha didn't know how. She scanned her surroundings, unsure of what had happened. Her protector continued to walk slowly across the room. Nisha took a deep breath to calm herself. Nisha's eyes widened when sudden realization hit her. There was no air anymore. Her lungs had taken in nothing.

Angela looked at Nisha, flashing her a smile.

"The fun begins!" Exclaimed Angela. She seemed to be having no trouble breathing. She turned towards the shadow now and seemed to size it up. She threw a dagger that went right through it. Unfazed by the result, the witch waved a hand at the shadow and yelled in the ancient language. For a moment the room filled with light, making the shadow hiss with displeasure. Once it found the source of the light, it pounced on it and snuffed it out. The shadow leaped into action. It clawed out at Angela who ducked under the blow. Angela ran across the room to give her some time. She spoke again in the ancient language, speaking something similar to last time. Her safety was brief, though. The shadow jumped at her once again, striking in a frenzy. Angela attempted to block a shadow claw, but the claw went right through her dagger. The shadow scraped the herbalist's arm, and made her gasp in pain, as an unusual frown appeared on her face. All the while though, she was continuing the incarnation, only pausing once in a while to dodge the shadow. When she finally finished, the room once again flooded with light. The same thing seemed to happen. The shadow recoiled and ran towards the light source to terminate it. When it went to pounce on it as it had tried to before, there seemed to be an invisible barrier around the source. Unable to extinguish the light, the shadow fell back against the wall, shielding itself with its arms from the light.

Meanwhile, Nisha was running out of oxygen. She tried to break the barrier around the light with magic, but Angela had warded it. Gasping for air that wasn't there, she looked over at Angela. She was sitting at the counter, drumming her fingers in boredom.

"Anytime you want to give in would be splendid!" Said Angela, grinning at Nisha expectantly. Nisha scowled and tried a few more spells with her last remaining breath. Angela, still sitting across the room was humming a merry tune and petting Solembum.

_Well at least you've proven you're resilient. Better give up now, you're half unconscious already. _Spoke Solembum in Nisha's mind. True to his word, Nisha's vision was swimming with black spots.

"I give up." choked Nisha, amazed she still had enough air to form words. Angela snapped her fingers and did one of her signature victory dances. The air flooded back into the room, sending parchment flying everywhere. Angela looked at the mess of her shop.

"I suppose you'll be doing some tidying up now." Mused Angela. She looked over expectantly at Nisha, who was lying on the floor gasping for air.

"Dandy!" Exclaimed Angela who grabbed one of her frog/toads and a pad of paper, then walked out of the shop whistling to herself.

Nisha looked around the room and gave a little cough that was supposed to be a groan of displeasure. She should probably give her lungs a little rest before she tried to make a sound again.

Once she caught her breath she got up out of the soil she had fallen in. She clutched her necklace and muttered in the ancient language. The shadow disappeared. She surveyed the scene. Broken flowerpots, dirt, and other supplies littered the floor. It would be a tedious job indeed. She picked through the bits of pottery halfheartedly. She hated the part that came after Angela and her mock-battles. It had been this way for months. She always lost, and by Angela's plain rule of "losers clean!" Nisha always ended up taking hours to get the shop back in order.

She sighed. She hated the aftermath, but it was necessary. Ever since Angela had enticed her to anger and she had found her weapon, they trained about every other day. Slowly but surely, Nisha had gotten better. When Nisha asked about Solembum and Angela realized how little she really knew about the mechanics of magic, she took up to training that too. She had never actually beaten Angela in one of their battles, but was now able to land at least a couple blows.

The discovery of Solembum being a werecat had come as a big shock to Nisha. Angela was so nonchalant about the fact, but Nisha could scarcely believe she had spoken with something from about every legend. She had tried to gain wisdom from him, but it became clear that he was very irritable when she tried to do this. Now she would just talk to Solembum when she wanted a good conversation. Patronizing as he was, he still managed to come off on Nisha's good side. He had a great sense of humor once you got past the initial parts of the conversation. Bored with her task already, she decided to talk to him while she worked.

_Did you ever catch that mouse that came through the wall yesterday? _Asked Nisha as she swept a large amount of dirt out the back door.

_Wasn't even a challenge._ He said as he stretched across the counter he liked to lie on.

_It literally ran into me anyway. It was scurrying across the floor to get a breadcrumb, and it stepped on my tail. Then, well to leave out some of the more graphic details, I'll just say he never got that crumb he was after._

Solembum licked his lips in a satisfied way. Nisha put a small plant in a fresh pot of dirt and laid it in the window. She busied herself in sweeping the floor again.

_Have you finally chosen to give me the great answers such as the meaning of life? _Inquired Nisha.

_Silly humans. You're always after are answers to questions that don't exist. What is the meaning of life? Depends on who you are. I myself have a grand time taking naps and lounging about the shop. But is that the meaning of my life? Of course not!_

_So what is the meaning to my life? _Amended Nisha. Solembum glared at her, annoyed.

_Now why would I tell you that anyway? Would it benefit me in the slightest? No. As a matter of fact, you may run out of the shop screaming, and I wouldn't be able to enjoy conversations like these anymore. On second thought, I almost want to tell you so you'll stop bugging me._

_Oh please do oh kind and wise seer of the world! Deem thy fit to bestow upon me your cherished knowledge! _Pleaded Nisha.

_No._

Solembum hissed and turned away from her. Nisha went to the back of the storeroom to get more flowerpots. She smiled to herself. One of these days, he would slip up and tell her the answer. She just needed to wait until he was off his guard.

Nisha scooped up a couple of flowerpots and walked back into the store.

_So Solembum, have you changed your min—_Nisha stopped short mid-sentence. Solembum was standing alert on the counter, ears perked up to listen. His yellow eyes were fixed on the window Angela was sitting by. Two strangers were standing in front of Angela, seemingly uncomfortable. One was old, with a white beard, and the other was quite young, about Nisha's age. Angela spoke suddenly, although Nisha couldn't hear the words, and the strangers still stood waiting. When Angela finished, the older man spoke and gestured to the frog/toad Angela held in her hand. Angela pointed at Jeod's house on the street and continued speaking. The youth looked quizzically at the frog/toad Angela held and inquired about it. Angela shook her head and waved her arms wildly at the frog/toad. The old man spoke once more. Angela waved her hand and continued writing about the frog/toad. The two strangers walked away in the direction of Jeod's house.

_What is it Solembum? They were probably just looking for Jeod. You don't get riled up like this every time someone comes here. _Said Nisha.

_Nothing. _Said Solembum obviously shaken by the appearance of the two strangers. _It's just… I wasn't expecting… and two at that! Oh never mind, you'll find out soon enough. _

Solembum jumped off the counter and ran into the shop. When Nisha looked for him he was nowhere to be seen.

_Well that was odd. _Nisha thought to herself. Sure, this wasn't the most popular spot in the city, but a couple of strangers weren't a rare occurrence. It wasn't like Solembum to be so curious about passersby. And what Solembum had said, about her knowing soon enough was unnerving. "And two at that?" What had the werecat meant about that? There were two strangers, but Nisha hadn't noticed anything odd about them. Then again, from a glance, Angela looked like a normal shop owner. Looks could be deceiving sometimes.

"We've got work to do!" Yelled Angela as she flung open the shop door. "Gotta get this place nice and mysterious for our visitors to come!"

"What?" asked Nisha, completely confused.

"A little kitty-cat told me one of them is going to come in here tomorrow and he'll need a reading of the dragon knucklebones. We need to set the mood, don't we?"

"Who's 'one of them?'" Asked Nisha.

"One of those two strangers I just talked to, of course! They wouldn't get the reading if they weren't special, and we might as well make a good impression! Now Nisha, leave the dirt on the floor, but pick up the rest of the pottery shards. Once you've got them, get some more regular pots." Ordered Angela. "Get busy, I've got more work for you after that! Meanwhile, I think I might grow some vines on the ceiling. You don't think that'll be too much?" Continued Angela.

Nisha stared blankly at the herbalist, a thousand questions forming in her mind.

"Great!" said Angela, not waiting for Nisha's answer. Nisha picked up the pieces of pottery off the floor and put them in an old crate. _What's a reading of the dragon knucklebones? Why does everyone think those two strangers were so special? Why would Angela want to grow vines on the ceiling?_ All these questions raced through her mind while she worked. Nisha walked into the back room to get some intact pots.

"While you're in there, could you get the crystal ball for me? Ohh… I know the best spot for it! That'll create the perfect otherworldly effect in the room. Get some mortars and pestles too." Commanded Angela.

Nisha grabbed the heap of items required by Angela and walked back into the store. She almost dropped them in amazement. While she had been in the storeroom, Angela had covered almost the whole ceiling in a thick tangle of vines. The only thing left untouched by the vines on the ceiling was their old chandelier, which now looked dusty and looming.

"How do you do that?" Said Nisha in amazement. Angela winked at her.

"Must have been magic! Now about those pestles and mortars…"

Nisha hurriedly walked over and handed Angela the items she required, stealing wondrous glances at the ceiling on her way. She walked away and busily began putting plants in pots. Finishing that task, she began arranging them on the shelves.

"Oh now that just won't do Nisha! We need these plants almost bursting off their shelves that they're so overcrowded! They're all so horribly _ordinary_ too! Could you get some more? Wait! One second! Hand me a daffodil. No, no, just one flower." Rushed Angela hurrying about the shop, giving orders to Nisha. Nisha ran over and handed the herbalist a daffodil. Angela spoke an incarnation in the ancient language. The flower seemed to explode as it rapidly grew outward. Angela slammed it in a large pot and set it on the floor. Nisha scurried around the shop, following Angela's every whim. She tried to ask a couple questions such as why in the world they were doing this, and if Angela was legally insane, but was always stopped short to Angela abrupt shout of, "No time!"

She summoned one of her birds and put it in a cage over here, scattered some junky machines over here, put a weird zap-rod thing on the counter over there. Angela's restyling seemed never ending. It continued this way well into the night until Angela finally panted to her, "I think we're done for now."

Angela slouched in a chair behind the counter, and Nisha sat in a chair near a window. Both of them struggled to breathe. Ruefully, Nisha realized this was the second time today that her lungs screamed at her for more air. She took a look around the shop. It had been completely transformed. The store was dark, with pale streaks of moonlight filtering through the windows. Plants clung everywhere, the walls, the floor, the ceiling, nothing was free of them. Various bits of odd machinery littered the spaces the plants failed to fill, leaving only miniscule spaces between shelves for customers to walk. The crystal ball glittered ominously in the moonlight, stars reflecting in the glass.

"Quite a sight." Remarked Angela quietly, seemingly half-asleep. "Any-who, I think I'm off to bed. I'll need at least a little rest for the ordeal tomorrow." With those words she trudged into the backroom, leaving Nisha to sit alone in the shadows. The empty shop seemed peaceful, and quiet in the near-complete darkness. Lacking the energy or will to get up and move to her makeshift bed in the backroom, Nisha fell asleep in her chair.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

When Nisha awoke she thought she was in a jungle. Soon, bleary-eyed, she recalled the events from yesterday. Her fight with Angela, talking with Solembum, the two strangers, and finally, Angela's frantic remodeling had all seemed like a dream. It wasn't. The evidence had practically poked her in the eye when she sat up in the chair. A thorny vine sagged from the ceiling right in front of her face. She surveyed the chaos of the shop that they had worked so hard to emulate to the most precise degree the day before. The crystal ball seemed to distort her head as she looked into it. Her hair looked like it was in an afro. Attempting to reassure herself that her hairstyle wasn't _that_ bad she reached up to feel her hair. To her utter dismay, the crystal ball had reflected her features perfectly, if not a little more rounded than normal. Her hair stuck out like a cartoon cat that was frightened. She looked over her shoulder and saw the electric rod that Angela had always kept for some reason laying on a countertop behind her. Angela claimed someone had given it to her boasting that it could be used to give off light brighter than a lantern under the right circumstances, but those circumstances never seemed to occur. Solembum was sitting next to it licking his paw, which seemed unusually frizzy.

_ Okay cat, when I went to sleep I _know_ that wasn't behind me. Even if it was, something needs to activate it, and it definitely wasn't on when I put it down or it would've shocked me! _Thought Nisha at Solembum, itching to strangle him.

_Even an alley Tom needs his fun sometimes, _responded Solembum simply, jumping off the counter and walking around a corner.

_I'll get him for that. _Vowed Nisha as she got up and shut off the zap-rod thingy. She walked to the back room and pulled out a basin of water and a mirror.

"Glurrrrgg…" were the only words of wisdom Angela offered her as she walked in. The herbalist rolled over in her makeshift bed and went back to sleep. Nisha proceeded to wet her hair down to try and get it back to normal. Static force prickled her hands as she pushed down on the puffy locks of hair surrounding her head. Succeeding somewhat at her task, she went outside to get the delivery of potatoes that had come in the night. Nisha often wondered how the potatoes got dropped off in the night, because there had been a curfew in place since the riots she had caused. It would be so much easier to get their potatoes regularly from the market, but Angela was strictly against it. "If we don't have to go get them ourselves, all the better!" she would always say as she waved aside Nisha's distresses that they would be fined like the delivery man if he were caught. Leave it to Angela to find and take part in an illegal potato dealership. She often wondered how much stranger things could get around this town. She didn't need to wait very long before as if on queue, Angela burst out of the back room crying, "Out! Out! We must get out of here! The boy has to wander into a deserted shop if he's to respect the reading! Out I say!"

Angela shoved Nisha outside and told her off. "I'll stay here, I need to walk in on him after he's looked about a bit. You can go off into the city is you'd like. Just don't linger!"

Thoroughly confused at this point, Nisha wandered off towards the docks. At first she was content just to take in the sea air and marvel at the sunrise, but the more she walked around, her thoughts kept straying back to the two strangers. Angela had made it clear enough that all of her fuss was because of them, but Nisha remained flabbergasted as to why they received special treatment. Her curiosity getting the better of her, she strolled off into a deserted alley and summoned one of her bird spirits.

"I want you to watch what happens in the shop when either an old man with a beard walks in, or a younger man about my age, or both. After they leave I want you to report back to me and tell me what happened." As an afterthought she added, "And don't let them see you! Not even Angela!"

"Aye aye mi maytee!" Chirped her entity as he flew off in the direction of the herb shop. Her bird spirits had become quite like the parrots that would sit on the stereotypical pirate's shoulder echoing what he said in a high-pitched chirp as soon as they had found out they were in a major seaport. Satisfied that she would find out what all this commotion was about soon enough she walked towards the center market. She felt bad about sending a bird to spy on what Angela was doing, but she couldn't help herself. Things just too riveting to ignore were afoot.

Nisha set off towards the cabbage stall, near the edge of the market in a back alley. She enjoyed talking to the owner, who was a quirky old man, with a yellowed tooth grin. Arriving after some toiling about in the crowd, she sat down on the customer barrel Jenkins, the man who ran it, had put out. When he heard her, he turned around.

"How can I help—oh, its you! How have you been this fine morning? I myself have been having a dreadful time of scattering…" He trailed off into silence for a moment.

Nisha grinned, "What's wrong? Cat got your tongue?"

Usually, the old man would burst out laughing if Nisha managed to work that particular phrase into their conversations, due to a misadventure with his old cat, Sparky. Jenkins had repeatedly teased him by keeping pieces of his dinner (Tuna) right in front of the cat, then yanking them out of his way as he tried to bite on to it. The cat was none too happy with this, and after the fifth time had pounced onto Jenkins' shoulder and scratched his tongue.

A hint of a smile crept onto the cabbage vender's face, but his eyes remained glued to something in the distance. Nisha turned to see what he was looking at, but there was nothing there.

"What is it?" asked Nisha with real concern. She hoped Jenkins hadn't finally gone senile. He always tottered on the edge of madness, and that was one thing she liked about him. He could say the strangest things and be confused when Nisha looked at him like he was insane. He always claimed that what he said was perfectly normal for any conversation, even when what he was saying consisted of jackrabbits with one foot or turtles without shells, but with cabbages on their backs instead.

"Its…its nothing, I thought I saw something strange, that's all…" He still seemed concerned, but he looked back at Nisha with a smile on his face.

"Why, Did you think this old spider finally fell off his web?" He grinned in the way that Nisha loved, and she put what had bothered him out of her mind.

"You coot! I rather think a spider might have more muscles than you with your scrawny little arms. Wouldn't surprise me in the least if you fell off your web if you didn't get stuck in it first!"

Their conversation continued like this until lunchtime, where they munched on cabbages, which just so happened to be abundant where they were sitting. A brief silence had settled on them, happily eating away at their food. Nisha was looking up at the sun wondering what it actually was to be able to create so much light, when the old man jumped to his feet pointing and yelled, "There it is again!"

"What?" Nisha asked, perplexed, as she saw nothing.

"There was someone in a cloak, looking down into the alley! I keep seeing their hood out of the corner of my eye, and this time I _know_ someone's there. I bet the little bugger was watching us the whole time. He seems to have the uncanny ability to pull his head back around the corner at just the right time. This time, a storeowner distracted him. It was probably Charles, offering him some free samples. I've always found Charles annoying, but I'll have to thank him when I see him!"

Jenkins stormed away in the direction he was pointing. Nisha jumped up and ran after him. Sure enough, as the cabbage vender rounded the corner, a butcher was shoving a tray of venison into a hooded man's face.

"You have no right to be spying on me you creep! If it were still the olden days I would give your rump a whoopin,' but of course now there are laws that prevent that! I'll just have to give a good old-fashioned talking to now you dirty rotten no—"

The stranger turned to face Jenkins and exhaled deeply in his face. Jenkins froze where he was, seemingly paralyzed by the man's foul breath. The butcher seemed confused for a moment then barraged the cloaked man with free samples once again, unperturbed by the strange events that had just unfolded. Nisha admired his either incredible bravery and nerve for still selling his products or his complete stupidity, because even stupidity is a trait that must be given credit to when it occurs in great amounts in one person. The hooded man snarled and drew a thin sword from his cloak, then striking like lightning slit the butcher's throat.

Nisha ground to a halt and fought back the urge to vomit. How could someone turn to violence like that so quickly at such small reasons?

"Wha-?" Spluttered Jenkins, waking up from his trance a little, startled by the sight of so much blood. The sound seemed to remind the cloaked busybody they were still there, and he spun around and stabbed Jenkins through his heart.

Nisha yelped and staggered backwards in terror. The cloaked man advanced on her slowly, seemingly enjoying her horror. Recovering from shock, Nisha drew her two long daggers Angela had insisted she kept about her person. She was glad she had them now, for it was not Jenkins time to go just yet, and this man needed to be taught a lesson. The figure cackled in an unearthly way that made the back of her spine feel like it was doused in ice water. Like a viper the man's blade darted toward her stomach, almost faster than Nisha could see. Weeks of training set in, and Nisha deflected the blade with one of her daggers and slashed out at the thing's shoulder. It dodged at the last second, tilting its body away from the blow, seemingly surprised to be faced by any resistance.

Surprise wasn't able to keep it at bay long, as it kicked Nisha viciously in her leg, sending her tumbling to the ground and gasping out in pain. She rolled away from a strike that whizzed past her left ear, sending sparks up from the cobblestone below. A split second later, the blade rose and fell in a trajectory heading straight for her chest. Choking out a phrase in the ancient language, Nisha stopped the blade in mid-swing, an inch above her body. She felt utterly drained, for the arm driving the short sword at her issued the attack with enormous strength, more than anything Angela could have ever mustered. The creature simply hissed, and raised its blade for another strike, a huge black eye being revealed from its hood sliding partially down its neck, glowing with triumph.

The next strike never came, as another, taller, hooded man flew down the alley and crashed into her attacker. Nisha got up, astounded that she was still alive, but ready to help her savior finish off the beast attacking her. The creature clacked something within its hood and got up. The other man who had barreled into it still seemed stunned and lay on the ground. Nisha's attacker turned around towards the man meddling in their fight. Nisha was too far away to stop that thing as it glowered down at the person struggling to rise. Nisha yelped as something shot from the beast's cloak at the downed stranger.

The downed man screeched in rage and took the hand of Nisha's attacker, as her foe helped him up. They clacked in unison and attacked Nisha.

The new, taller one leapt at her, clearing the approximate twenty feet between them in a single bound. Nisha's original foe ran towards them, as Nisha parried a sword strike from the creature attacking her before it even landed in front of her. Nisha stumbled from the blow, which had used the combined force of the monster's descent and strength all at once to snap one of her metal daggers in two. Luckily, her attacker stumbled too on his landing, which gave Nisha a brief (very, very brief I should say.) respite. A second later the other thing had joined the fray, but from lack of communication, the both slashed at her head in almost exactly the same spot, allowing her to block both strikes with her remaining dagger.

Sensing the end was quite near for the second time in the last five minutes, Nisha took in huge uneven breaths from the combined fear, stress and exertion she was feeling at that moment. A blunt, heavy, wooden boomerang-like thing sailed over her head and whacked the taller of the two attackers in the head. It staggered backwards and yelped as the other one jumped clear over her head and at someone standing behind her.

"Lucky I was given a talent in shot-put aren't you? I can't say it was entirely the same thing though hurling a ra'zac down a smelly alley full of dark magical objects though." Bragged Angela nonchalantly as she twirled her huthvirn towards the creature, which caught one of the two blades attached to the staff with its short sword. Angela flashed Nisha an overly peppy smile, as she shoved the creature towards the wall with the wooded part of the staff. She tread on its foot, quite forcefully, making it chitter rapidly in apparent pain.

As astonished and happy as Nisha was, she knew that wooden projectile would not keep her remaining opponent out of commission for long. Spinning around, Nisha saw the creature stab its blade towards her neck. Nisha dropped to a crouch and stabbed at its knee, landing her first blow of the day on the mysterious monsters. Howling in pain, it kicked her in her forearm, sending her already ruined dagger spinning down the alley. Nisha's foe shrieked at its companion and leapt backwards out of Nisha's reach. It landed gingerly on its injured leg and cackled insistently once more at the foe Angela was facing. Angela was backing it down the alley towards Nisha. Nisha spun around to slash at its back, but she did this at precisely the same moment as the monster turned around too. It exhaled deeply in her face, and Nisha found herself paralyzed, unable to do anything but watch in horror as the beast leapt over her, picked up its companion and leapt over a ten foot wall out of the alley.

Nisha made to run after them, knowing it was hopeless, as she couldn't hope to clear a wall like that as those creatures did.

"Let them go." Said Angela calmly. "They failed to get what they wanted, and that's what matters."

Angela started towards the back of the alley, towards the wall the creatures had run from, seemingly contradicting her own orders to Nisha.

"Makes sense he would hide in a place full of all this roasted cabbage… Such dark magic… it would mask all magical evidence of his presence." Muttered Angela to herself as she strode towards Jenkin's cabbage stall. She walked over to his storage crate, pried it open, and threw out a few cabbages to reveal a frightened looking little boy.


End file.
